Leaves Fall Slowly
by Those-Heavenly-Tears
Summary: Leaves fall as slowly as children grow. Watch as the next generation of Konoha's youth become ninjas that will change the world. Contains NaruHina, InoxOC, ShikaTema,and minor SasuSaku. Please do not read if this offends you. Read and review.
1. Late September Part One

"Hey!", a red-haired girl screamed. She reached her hands up and stood on her tippy-toes. A blond boy stood above her, chuckling, holding a stuffed animal in his hand. He had an evil smirk on his tan face, his blue eyes shone. "Give it back!"

"You should'nt have been in my room!", he yelled. He wiggled the stuff animal in one of his hands, shaking it.

"Akane!", someone yelled. Akane,the red haired girl with white eyes and pale skin looked in the doorway. In it was a boy that looked exactly like the one that held her stuffed animal. "Yuudai!"

Yuudai, the one that held Akane's stuffed animal, laughed. He flung the stuffed animal to Akane, who scurried over to the other blond boy. She grabbed onto his right leg, clutching it and her stuffed animal close to her.

"Aw, Yuuki, you know I was just playing around with her.", Yuudai laughed. Yuuki scowled and picked Akane up and settled her on his hip.

"Yeah, by scaring her to death!", he yelled. Yuudai just laughed, walked over to his bed and lounged on it.

"Come on, lighten up, little brother.", Yuudai said. He picked up a scroll that lay open on his bed and looked through it.

Akane whined and Yuuki looked at her, brushing her crimson hair out of her pale eyes. He pointed at Yuudai.

"I'll deal with you later, when Otou-san gets home and Kaa-san gets done with her mission." Yuuki said. He situated Akane on his hip and walked out of his older brother's room.

"Tattle-tale!", Yuddai yelled from the vicinity of his room. Yuuki stuck his tongue out in his direction and Akane did the same.

Yuudai and Yuuki were brothers. Though they looked alike, they were entirely different. Where Yuudai found hilarity in messing around with his younger siblings and playing meaningless pranks, Yuuki found his true calling in helping his mother in the house, cooking and cleaning and resolving fights. They were also academy students of Konoha Village, nine years old. Akane was the youngest, the object of most of Yuudai's torture. Her name meant 'deep red', given to her by her parents because of her beautiful red hair. She was the baby of the house, the only one other than her mother that had white eyes. She kept her hair short and croppy, flopped meaninglessly in her eyes. She was shy, but when angered, she could have a language that made her father, the one with the sailor's mouth, cringe. Her mother and her rarely spoke; Akane spent more time in her father's office, finding fun in stapling papers and watching him sign treaties, rather than stay home and help her mother and her brother cook dinner, making food for the family. She was tiny and fragile, only five years old, the baby...

Yuuki set Akane down on the kitchen counter and went back to stirring the food on the stove. Akane played with her stuffed animal. She glanced at her brother, the nicer one, and smiled.

"Yuuki-nissan, what'cha cooking?" she asked. He turned away from the stove to look at his little sister.

"Ah, just some dumplings, onigiri, and some of those sticky sweet buns Kaa-san likes.", he replied. He lifted to his hands up, which were covered in sticky rice and wiped them on Akane, who laughed and swatted at him. "And of course a bowl of ramen for you and Otou-san."

She shook her finger at him. "I was about say, 'You better not have forgotten me and Otou-san's ramen, nissan'!" They laughed. They both walked over to the sink (or in Akane's case, crawled), and washed their hands with the perfumed foamy-soap. They both cupped their hands together and blew bubbles from their palms.

"Honey, I'm home!", the heard a deep voice yell. They looked at eachother.

"Otou-san!", they yelled and ran to greet him. Yuudai caught up with them. Akana jumped into her father's arms and he swung her around and hugged her.

"Ah, how have my wild children been today?", he asked.

The replied that they were good and he smiled. Akane snatched his jacket off of him and went running to another room. She left him in just his jounin jacket, a 'What the hell just happened?' look on his face.

"Akane!", Yuuki yelled, but their father patted his head.

"Let her.", he said.

Their father was a tall man, with wild blond hair and bright blue eyes. He had a giant smile and faint scratch marks on his cheeks. He was the Hokage, leader of Konohagakure. He was always smiling, and laughing and playing around with his kids. He was also protective, getting upset even when they got a tiny scratch on their knee. According to their mother, 'He was always too protective of his precious people'.

Their mother was beautiful, with raven hair cascading down her pale shoulders. She was a Hyyuga, and had passed her Byakugan down to Akane. She was always sweet and encouraging, smiling sweetly,cheering the loudest when Yuudai and Yuuki were made genins.

Though the children never wanted to know, their parents told them how they met. They had been in the same class in the academy and when their mother's eyes graced over their father's face, she was madly in love. Though she suddenly got a habit of being shy, poking her fingers together, blushing and fainting when she was near him, and did'nt have the courage to tell him how she felt about him. It was a day in November, snow fell down from the sky, when she told him she loved him. And to her surprise, he had felt the same way and knew the entire time that she loved him. Two years later they got married and a year after that they had Yuudai and Yuuki, the twins,and then Akane arrived four years later.

Akane rushed into her room, carrying her father's coat in her hands. She snuggled her face into it, breathing his scent in; a slight musk and the tingy ramen smell she had, too. She walked over to her mirror and put the jacket on. It draped down to the floor, past her tiny wrists. She turned around and it cascaded down to the floor and when she moved, it followed. She grinned, and then walked back ito the kitchen, where her father and brothers had started eating.

She sat down at the table, broke her chopsticks and dug into the delicious meal layed out in front her. Her father chuckled lightly and patted her head and ruffled her red hair. He brushed it out her eyes and tucked it behind her ear.

Then he looked over at the empty seat next to him, frowning.

"When'll she be home?", Yuudai asked through a mouthful of food. Their father shook himself out his trance.

"Oh, late tonight, probably." Though his wife was married and had children, she loved missions with her old team. She asked for a mission twice a month, as to not get out shape. She had a lithe and tiny figure, passed onto her daughter.

All the children looked up at their father, who had gone back to eating his dinner. His eyes were clouded.

Sometimes, even though he knew she was strong, he worried for her. He loved her more than anything, and if she got hurt, he would never forgive himself.

Suddenly, a grey haired man in a jounin outfit appeared behind their father. Their father did not turn around.

"Yes, Kakashi?", he asked.

Kakashi looked down gravely. "There has been an accident. Hinata-sama has been hurt on her mission. Sakura and Tsuande-sama are at the hospital taking care of her."

Their father flew out of chair. He stood up, shaking slightly.

"I-I'll be there in a minute. Let me get the children..."

"I'll take care of them, Naruto."

Akane's eyes widened. She grabbed her father's arm and tears fought to drop down her cheeks.

"Otou-san, I wanna come, too!", she cried. "I'll love Kaa-san just as much as you do!"

"Akane...", her father whispered. He looked at her for a moment and smiled. He hoisted her up on his hip.

"Come on, Yuudai, Yuuki, lets go check on your mom."

"Is she alright?", Naruto asked. He had his little daughter, Akane, on his hip, and his twins sons stood close to him.

Tsunade smiled. "She'll be just fine. She gave us all quite a scare, but she's just resting now."

Naruto sighed in relief. "May we go see her?", Yuuki spoke out.

Tsunade looked at him and nodded. "You kids go see her." She looked at Naruto. "I have to talk to your Otou-san real quick."

Naruto let Akane down and she latched onto Yuuki. They were let into the hospital room by Sakura.

When they were gone, Naruto spoke. "What is it, Tsunade?"

"She is perfectly fine, just a bit tired. You should'nt have let her go on this mission, Naruto." Tsunade said. "Did she tell you that she did'nt have her yearly physical exam like the rest of the ninja?"

Naruto opened his mouth in surprise. "W-We went together. How could she not tell me?"

Tsunade smiled. "Naruto, she's pregnant. She wanted to go on that mission, so she skipped the exams and went. If we had found out she was pregnant earlier, we would have put her off her missions. But, she never came."

Naruto smiled. "She is?"

Tsunade scowled. "Naruto, you're wife is twelve weeks pregnant, you let her go on a mission in her condition, and all you say is 'She is?'! She could have lost the baby because of your mistake!", she yelled.

But Naruto was too busy grinning.


	2. Late September Part Two

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"Kaa-san?"

Hinata opened her eyes slowly to see her children in front of her. Yuudai and Yuuki's blond hair and blue eyes and Akane with her deep red hair and her pale eyes stared at her. Hinata smiled at them and reached out to stroke Akane's cheek.

"Hello, dears.", she said quietly. Akane smiled and lunged at her, hugging her tightly. Yuudai and Yuuki smiled and moved to the other side of the bed and joined.

"Kaa-san, we were so worried about you!", Akane exclaimed.

"We were.", said a voice. Hinata's eyes moved to the doorway to look at the man she fell in love with. She smiled.

He walked over to them, sat on the bed, patted her leg and smiled. "I heard."

Hinata frowned. "You're not mad, are you?"

He laughed. "Of course not. Though I wish you would have told me."

"What?", Akane yelled. The adults laughed. The two twins had the same thing running through their heads.

"Kids, Kaa-san is--", their father started.

"Naruto, let me.", she said. She breathed deeply, and then exhaled. "Kids, Kaa-san is going to have baby."

Silence.

"Another baby?", Yuudai asked. "I wished you would have stopped at me and Yuuki, but noooooo, you had to have Akane, too. And now another baby!"

Yuuki punched his twin lightly. "Would you quit being so rude!"

"Is Tou-san and Kaa-san happy?", Akane asked.

"Of course we're happy.", their father said, laughing. Then he stopped and looked at his wife. "We're happy, right?"

"Of course.", she said, taking his hand in hers. She smiled.

"Then, if Tou-san and Kaa-san are happy, I'm happy as well!", Akane yelled.

"Me too. If you two are happy, then why should'nt we be happy for you?", Yuuki added in.

"Naruto, you kids sure are wise for their age.", someone said. The family turned their heads to the door, only to see Tsunade.

"They get it from me, ya know.", Naruto said proudly.

"Uh, no. They get it from their Kaa-san, not you.", Tsuande said. "If they were even just a little bit more like you..." She cringed. "Well, Hinata," Tsunade said, turning to Hinata, "I suppose you can leave now. Naruto, no more missions for her, got it? And I know you all know where to go for checkups. Every four weeks, alright?"

They all nodded. Then Akane, being the child she was, ran over to Tsunade and hugged her around her waist.

"Tsu-ba-chan! Teach me to be a docter ninja, so I can see the baby!", Akane pleaded. Tsunade bent down and picked her up, settling her on her hip and looking into her gray eyes gently.

"I can't do that, sweetie, I'm not that type of medical ninja. I'm sorry. But, if go to the baby docter with your family in a few weeks, you'll get to see the baby there, okay?"

Akane pouted. "Okay..."

After everyone got home, they kids got their baths, the parents their showers. Soon, everyone was dressed to go to sleep. Akane was in the living room, sitting on the couch in her mother's lap, who was brushing her short red hair gently.

"Akane, sweety, why don't you grow your hair out? It would be so beautiful..."

"It'll get in my way.", Akane said.

"Well, Kaa-san keeps her hair long, and it does'nt get in my way.", her mother said back. Then, when Akane did'nt say anything back, she dropped the subject.

Then Naruto came in and Akane jumped into his arms. Naruto then brought her into her room and tucked her in, kissed on the forehead and walked back to the master bedroom.

His wife was laying in the bed, reading, a lamp on. He climbed in bed and kissed her gently. She smiled and put her book up, turned the light out. They fell aleep in eachother's arms.

Naruto woke up in the middle of the night. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach and he got up and walked to his children's rooms.

Yuudai and Yuuki shared a room. They had bunk beds, Yuudai's on the bottom (he used to sleep on the top bunk until he got in trouble a few weeks ago and was forced to sleep on the bottom bunk), and Yuuki's on top. Their father smiled when he saw that they were sleeping soundly. Yuudai was strewn across his bed, snoring lightly. Yuuki had the covers tucked under his chin, his head tilted to one side.

Then, Naruto left their room to go to Akane's room. He stayed at the door, and saw that she was sleeeping.

"I love you, Akane.", he whispered. Then, when he went to leave, he heard Akane sit up. He turned back to lok at her.

She was rubbing her eyes with her hands. "Tou-san, I love you more.", she said quietly. Then she layed back down and sighed, slowly going back to sleep.

Naruto smiled, before closing the door behind him.


	3. Early October

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Chapter Three: Early October

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Akane slowly turned the knob on the door going outside, as not to wake her family. She sighed as she stared at the morning sky; the sun was barely peeking over at the horizon, dying the clouds pink and orange. She breathed in the misty air. It would rain later.

She walked over to the side of the front porch and grabbed her bike, shifting it down the porch steps and onto the dirt path that led away from her house. She got on her bike and kicked up the kickstand, before shoving her weight against the ground with her foot and pedaling off. She gritted her teeth as she made her way up the hill near house and stopped when she reached the top.

She could see the village and the people just waking up. The shops were starting to glow with lighting. She grinned and looked down the slope that led straight into the village. Today she would do it.

She started to stand up, making it so that the pedals were evenly horizontal and shifted her weight forward. She had seen her brothers do this hundreds of times. Surely she could do it. It wasn't impossible.

Slowly, she made her decent toward the part of the hill that sloped down. Now it was getting a bit scary. What if she fell? Her brothers always did it perfectly. It had looked as if they were flying and when they were down, they always told her how wonderful it felt. ; especially this early in the morning. If her brothers could do it, surely she could.

Shifting her weight more, she finally went down.

The air hit her full blast. It blew her red hair everywhere and some strands got into her mouth. She smiled in triumph. The bike was shaking a little but she kept her grip on the handle bars firm. The village was getting closer and closer...

Maybe if she stuck her arms out...would she feel like a bird? Could she fly? Hesitantly, she slowly took her hands off the handle bars and waved them out wide. She closed her eyes and for a second she really felt like she was flying. The bike was shaking a little because her hands were off the handle bars. She felt the slope end, but she kept in her position.

Suddenly, she heard someone yell. Then she opened her eyes and groped for the handle bars. She tried to put her feet on the ground, but it was too late. There were no brakes on the bike except the ones that you had to spin the pedals backwards to get them to work.

She crashed head-on into a nearby stall in the market. She felt her head hit the wooden partition on impact and was slammed to the ground instantly, knocking the breath out of lungs. Some people yelled and screamed. Her eyes started to glaze over, trying to separate the black and white. Someone started shaking her, asking if she was alright. She tried to force her mouth to breath in air. ; her chest starting cramping up.

Her head lolled back and forth, trying to get her bearings. She felt a person pick her and they started running. She finally closed her eyes, feeling the darkness overtake her.

-----------------------

Yuuki woke up to the sound of his older brother's snoring. He yawned, grabbed his pillow that was behind his head, bent over the side of the bunk bed, and then promptly threw his pillow at his twin's face. His brother grabbed it with both hands, moving it out of the way. They glared at each other for a few moments.

"Would you _please _quite throwing...in-in---" Yuudai stopped, trying to find the word. Yuuki sighed.

"He is WAY too much like Dad,"Yuuki thought to himself. "Inanimate," he sighed.

"---inanimate objects at me?!" Yuudai asked.

"I will when your snoring stops waking up the dead. I could have sworn I heard Grandfather start groaning last night in the belly of the Death God," Yuuki climbed out his bunk down the ladder.

"I do not!"

Yuuki stuck his tongue out at him and picked up their alarm clock. 10:13 A.M. it read. Yuuki was confused. He usually woke up at seven. Did someone turn his alarm clock off? Or did he sleep through it?

"I'll be right back," he said to his brother. Yuudai groaned.

"I won't miss you..." Yuuki heard him say back, crawling over into the corner in his bed, a pillow clutched close to him.

Yuuki opened the door to their bedroom and slipped outside, walking down the carpeted hallway. He passed his little sister's room, the new baby's room that his mom and dad were working on, a guest bedroom, and then one more bedroom. He walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. The look on his father's face stopped him at the door.

His father was slouched over at the kitchen table, holding a cup of steaming coffee. He had purple circles under his eyes and he was dressed half-hazardly in his blue robe. His hair was a mess, draping over his forehead and over the sides of his face like a curtain.

"Dad...?" Yuuki called out. His father nearly jumped out his seat. Why was he so jumpy? His dad usually greeted him in the morning, happily eating a plateful of bacon, eggs, pancakes, toast, and a glass of orange juice off to the side. His mother always grabbed him and pulled him for a kiss on the forehead or the cheek and they would talk about what they would for the day. His brother and sister usually dozed for about an hour until they woke up and stumbled downstairs.

His father got up from his chair and pulled Yuuki in for a hug. His dad was very fatherly, but because Yuuki and Yuudai were getting older, he only hugged Akane now. They didn't like the affection anymore. It felt like they were being babied.

"Um, dad..." Yuuki said." Not that this isn't heart-warming or anything, but can you please let go? I just woke up."

"S-Sure," his dad replied shakily. He sat back down.

Yuuki sat down with him. "Did you and mom already eat breakfast?"

"No."

"How come? Is something wrong, dad? You've never acted like this before," Yuuki said suddenly. Something was wrong. He doubted his dad would tell him the complete truth. Maybe something bad had happened in the village last night that made his dad like this. Maybe something happened to his mother. He started to get worried.

Wait, was something--or rather someone--missing?

It hit him like rock. She was usually up by now, her red hair tousled, clinging to their father for warmth in the cool October mornings.

"Dad...Where is Akane?" He was almost afraid to ask. He was waiting for his dad to start laughing and say that it was just something trivial that got him all riled up.

"She's in the hospital," his dad didn't hesitate. "Please call your brother, Yuuki."

Yuuki did as he was told, and when his brother refused, Yuuki yelled that it was an emergency. Yuudai stumbled down the stairs moments later, a lamp in one hand, a wild look in his eyes.

"Where's the fire?!" he yelled, waving the lamp around.

"Put down the lamp, Yuudai," Yuuki sighed. "And if there was fire, why the heck would you bring a lamp? Idiot."

"Listen, you! It was a spur of the moment kind of thing, 'k? I didn't have much to choose from!" Yuudai yelled in defense.

"Boys, please," their dad begged. Yuudai's eyes traveled to his dad and widened.

"Hey, what's going on?" he asked.

"Akane is the hospital," Yuuki responded.

His father sighed wearily. "She went out to ride her bike and rode down the hill. A bystander said she flying down it, her arms spread out and standing up on the pedals. He yelled to her, and she tried to stop, but it was too late." He sighed again, putting his head on the table. "She crashed into a nearby stall at the market, cracking her head open. She got a concussion and had to get six stitches on her forehead. Your mother and I heard from Tsunade at about seven this morning. Your mother is with her now and she let me know a few minutes ago that she still hasn't woken up."

The twins gasped. Yuuki felt tears sting his eyes. His precious little sister was the hospital. He could just imagine her tiny body hooked up to a dozen machines, her head wrapped up and six gangly stitches sewn into her forehead. She was probably a deathly pale color. He felt his stomach do flip-flops.

Then he realized something. She got hurt doing the exact same thing that Yuuki and his twin had been doing so much on their bikes. They had literally taught her how to and drove her into a deathtrap.

"W-When can we see her?" Yuudai stuttered.

"We can go now. You boys get dressed and I will, too." His father smiled, trying to be strong for them. "Maybe we can pick her up some flowers at Aunt Ino's flower shop. "

------------------------

They picked up some yellow sunflowers for their sister and hurried along to the hospital. The cool October wind chilled their bones and they decided to wear jackets and Yuuki even put on a dark green sweater.

When they got to the hospital, they relished in the warmth of the heater off to the side of the big main room. They shedded their jackets off. Their father walked to the nurse up front.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama," she smiled.

"Good morning. I was wondering if you could tell me where Uzumaki Akane's room is?" their father asked, putting on a false smile.

"Of course." The nurse flipped through a few pieces of paper until the last one. "Second floor, room 218. Will that be it?"

"Yes, thank you." They walked away from the nurse with a bright smile.

"How can someone be so happy in a building were people die?" Yuudai sneered in his head. Why should someone be working in the hospital if they were so optimistic? It was so stupid.

The boys walked upstairs until they reached the second floor, and then walked down a hallway until they reached a room that said ROOM 218 on a plaque near the side of the door. They knocked on the door, waiting quietly. Yuudai shifted the bouquet of sunflowers in his arms.

Their mother answered and she was in a mess just like their father was when they woke up. She had a hand over her swollen belly and brought their father in for hug, kissing him on the lips. Then she grabbed her twins, kissing them both on the forehead and smiling at the sunflowers.

"She'll love them," their mother smiled.

"The boys picked them out," their father spoke. Their mother ushered the boys in.

Yuudai wondered what Akane would look like. He thought she would look beaten up and terrible. But when he saw her, she looked okay. Neither good nor bad. She was in between the two. She still had her natural pale skin, not deathly pale. Her head was bandages up securely, and her stitches were black lines on her forehead, going in an obtuse angle. She was breathing slowing and gently, clearly asleep by the looks of it. She had an IV in her arm. He had never seen his sister so unlively.

Their mother took Akane's hand in her own two hands and stroked it gently. Their father stood behind their mother, a hand on her shoulder and his eyes on Akane.

Outside, Yuudai could hear the nurses shuffling around in the hallways and opening doors. Suddenly, he heard some loud thumps on the hallway tiles and someone crashed through the door. It was their Aunt Sakura.

"Naruto! Hinata!" she yelled. Her hair was tied up in a pony tail and she was holding her only son, Satoshi's, hand in her own. His dark green eyes searched the room and fell on Akane, where they stayed. "Do you mind watching Satoshi? I've got an emergency in--"

Naruto smiled. "Sakura-chan, calm down. Of course we'll take care of him." Sakura sighed in relief and kissed her son on the forehead, thanked them, and ran off. She left her son behind standing at the door.

"Good morning, Satoshi-kun. Did you sleep well?" Hinata asked him. She smiled gently at him, prompting him to talk because he was such a quiet child.

Satoshi shook his head. "Mother woke me up early this morning for her shift at the hospital. I slept a little bit in her office," he said.

"Ah, well, if you are tired you can lie down and take a nap," Naruto suggested.

"No, thank you," Satoshi replied.

"S-So monotone..." the whole Uzumaki family thought, minus Akane.

It was silent for a few moments. Yuuki looked out the window at the dreary gray sky. It was only almost lunchtime, but the sky resembled that of the night sky.

"It looks like it'll rain," a voice said. Yuuki jumped, and turned around to see his father looking outside the window as well.

"It does, doesn't it?" Naruto replied. He put his hand on Yuuki's shoulder and squeezed it gently.

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Next-- Chapter Four: Late October


	4. Late October

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Chapter Four: Late October

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The first night it rained, it hadn't stopped not once. It was still raining now. The rain varied: it was sometimes falling in sheets like mist, or raining like needles so when it hit you it stung. Sometimes it flooded the village with big rain drops that soaked front yards and halted the market and the people that wanted to buy from the vendors. Everything slowed down. It was calm.

Akane couldn't remember when it rained so hard and relentlessly. She couldn't go outside to jump in the huge water puddles in her front yard--well, it's not like she could even if she wanted to. She was banned from going outside. Her father made that pretty clear.

To put it in simpler terms, she was grounded. No going outside, not even to get the Sunday paper. It sucked and she absolutely hated it. Which is why she hadn't talked to her father since he had carried her home from the hospital and told she was grounded. He spent about a whole half an hour explaining what she could and couldn't do.

She settled with talking to her mother, since she was going to have a baby soon (due sometime between March and April) and stayed home most of the time. Her father was busy at work and with the upcoming chunnin exam in December he was extra busy and always came home late. Her brothers were excited. They loved watching the chunnin exams. They were still in the Ninja Academy and their parents told them it didn't matter how good they were--they were going to stay in the Academy until they were twelve and old enough to understand what it meant to be a ninja. The twins were pretty mad about that; they were hoping to graduate from the Academy in May when it let out for summer vacation. Too bad for them, Akane snickered to herself.

Hanging out with her mother was actually a lot of fun. She had let Akane help her paint the baby's room; it was a soft beige color, a comforting color perfect for a baby. They would be going sometime next month for a check up on the baby and Akane was excited to find out whether the baby was a boy or a girl.

Akane had finally given in; she was growing her hair out for her mother. It was one of the first things she had said to her mother when she had woken up after the accident. It went like this:

"Mom..." she had said it a quiet voice.

Her mother had turned around with a curious and concerned face. "Yes, honey?"

"I..." She swallowed nervously. "I want to grow out my hair. So it's just like yours."

She saw her mother tear up. "Oh, Akane, you don't have to do that," she wiped her eyes gently and reached towards Akane.

Akane shook her head when her mom pulled her in for a hug. "I want to, Mom. I want to."

And that was it. Her cropped hair was finally getting a chance to grow out. It was already past her ears and trying to settle on her shoulders. She thought maybe by early next year, it would be past her shoulders. She had something to wait for.

Akane sighed and walked into the kitchen, where her mother was humming as she cooked lunch for the two of them. It smelled delicious and Akane breathed it in. Her mother turned around and smiled.

"Are you hungry?" she asked, smiling a smile that reminded Akane of her father.

"Yep," Akane replied. "What are we having?"

"I'm making some bentos with different kinds of assorted foods. I was thinking we could make a trip to your father's office and deliver him some food. The poor man's working himself to death." Her mother shook her head and 'tsk', 'tsked'. "And then maybe we can go to Ninja Gear and look around. They're having a sale on pajamas. Three for one. It's a deal."

Akane was surprised. "Mom, I can't go outside. I'm not allowed." She can't believe her mother suggested it. Her mother usually agreed with about everything her father said.

"I know that," her mother laughed. "You don't even have to go inside. You can stay outside and talk to Kohaku." Kohaku was Kurenai's daughter. She was fifteen right now, and beautiful, too, what with her long, wavy, jet-black hair and soft brown eyes. She had a good personality as well; the one that attracts people like bees to honey.

"Okay, if you say so, Mom," Akane wanted to sound disappointed in her mother, but couldn't help it as she bounded up the stairs to her room and dressed quickly. She put on a thick blue sweater with some long black pants and a white wind-breaker over it. She went to the bathroom her whole family shared (it was huge, with three sinks, a huge mirror, a shower, and a big bathtub. There are tons of cabinets as well, packed full of towels, medicine, deodorant, and all that other useless stuff her parents used) and looked at herself in the mirror. She grabbed a hairbrush and ran it through her quickly. Before she left, she paused and dabbed her fingers over the gash sewn with black stitches. It was running slanted over her forehead, from her left eyebrow to the middle of her pale forehead. She sighed and walked away. It was just another reminder of how stupid she was.

She padded downstairs. Her mother, who was holding three bento boxes tied together by a light blue cloth and her purse, looked Akane up and down. She topped at her feet and Akane looked as well.

She had no socks on.

She ran upstairs, got a pair of socks, put them on, and ran back downstairs. Her mother laughed, grabbed her rain jacket (a lilac purple) and they stepped outside. Akane looked around her front yard, which was covered in rain water. Her yard looked flooded. You could barely see the grass!

Her rain boots were outside on the porch, caked with dry mud from the last good rain they had had when she was allowed outside. She grabbed her boots and beat them against the side of the house to get the dry mud off. Then she slipped them on. Her mother grabbed an umbrella and opened it. The two gathered underneath it, and slowly stepped down the front steps. Their feet made squelching noises as they trekked across the front yard.

The rain was ruthless today. It was just a drizzle; like a dreary spray. It looked really cool, coming down in sheets. You could actually tell the difference between the layers of raindrops. Akane leaned out of the umbrella and stuck her tongue out. The rain gathered on her tongue and her face. She swallowed. Her mother made a disapproving noise, but didn't say anything. Akane got back under the umbrella.

The village was deserted. The market was bare. It looked like a ghost town. They walked through the village to the Hokage Tower and walked inside the nice warm hallways. It was dry, dry, dry. Akane was happy to be out of the rain, but she was also happy to finally have gone outside since the accident.

The girls shedded their jackets and put them on the coat rack. They took off their boots so they just had their socks on their feet. The Hokage Tower was a familiar place. And besides, they knew the Hokage and surely he wouldn't have any objections.

"I bet Kohaku is in the library," Akane's mother spoke. They slowly climbed up the stairs.

"Yeah, probably."

"Do you remember where the library is, dear?" her mother joked.

"Ha, ha. Yes, I do, "Akane said.

"I'll come and get you when I'm done," her mother said as they parted to different hallways.

"Okay!" Akane whisper-yelled.

For the rest of the way, Akane ran. Her feet patted on the carpeted hallways softly, only making a dull thumping noise. She almost passed the library were Kohaku probably was.

The library was well lit, with big windows, and had a wide variety of books. Kohaku like to hang out there a lot. Akane didn't know why someone would spend almost all their free time reading. It was just plain weird.

She spotted Kohaku's hair behind a bookshelf to the left.

"Kana!" she yelled.

Kohaku whipped around. "Akane-chan! This is a library. Please, be a bit quieter."

Akane pretended to zip her mouth and throw away the key. Kohaku giggled. She wheeled herself to Akane and smiled.

"Long time no see. I heard about what happened to y0u," Kohaku's eyes drifted to the gash on Akane's forehead. "You need to be more careful. You could get yourself seriously hurt." Kohaku's eyes flickered with a bit of sadness and concern.

Kohaku had been in accident on one of her first missions. It was a C-rank, no big deal, she was a genin, and she could handle it. That is, until she fell on her back from the very top of a very tall tree. There were enemy ninja that had body slammed her mid-jump and knocked her down. She fractured her spinal cord. It was starting to heal, but all of a sudden, she woke up one morning and she couldn't feel or move her legs. That was last year. She still couldn't do anything with her legs. Now she was in a metal wheelchair that she could wheel herself around in. She was limited to some things, but it didn't keep her down. Since she couldn't be a regular ninja, she had decided to start studying to be a medic-nin. Auntie Sakura was training her and said she was doing surprisingly well. Akane was amazed that even if Kohaku couldn't be a ninja anymore, she decided to use her chakra to help others.

"Yeah, I'll be more careful." Akane flashed a big smile. "So, whatcha readin'?"

-------------------------

Hinata knocked on her husband's office door. It was barely a few taps, and she thought her might not have heard it. Just as she was about to knock on the door, he called out that she could come in.

He was sitting at his desk, piles of paperwork stacked nearly to the ceiling. His assistant, an ordinary-looking brown-haired woman picked up a huge stack of papers off the floor, nodded at Hinata, and then left the room. She closed the door behind her.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata spoke. Her husband jolted up in shock. He looked at her and sighed in relief, putting a hand to his heart.

"Man, you scared me half to death, Hinata-chan. What are you doing here?" he asked. He got up off his chair and walked over to her. He held her close and smiled.

"I brought you lunch; thought you might be hungry," she blushed and handed him the wrapped up boxes. He unwrapped them and took a box.

"It smells delicious," he praised. His eyes looked over the food-filled boxes. "Why are there three bento boxes?"

"I brought Akane with me," she put a finger over his lips before he could say anything. "Now, don't get mad. Naruto, I know that what she did scared us all and I think she's learned her lesson. You can't keep her cooped up in the house forever."

He sighed and pulled her closer. "I know. But..." he paused," I just don't know why I would do if I lost her. Or the one of the boys. Or you." The look he gave her made her feel his concern. "I'd die. I couldn't handle it."

She put a hand on his check and he closed his eyes. "It's not like you won't have other people to look after you. You'll never be alone, Naruto." She pulled him close and hugged him tight. "I promise."

The pulled apart. Naruto's eyes told her 'thank you'. Hinata smiled.

"Akane and I are going to shopping, alright?" She kissed him on the lips. "Try to overwork yourself. I'll you see you this evening."

She left him with a smile and a silent 'good luck'. The chunnin exams could be brutal.

--------------------

"So, Mom, where are we going first?" Akane asked. She held onto her mother's hand tightly as they walked down the streets of Konoha.

It had stopped raining. After Hinata had left Naruto in his office, she met up with Akane and Kohaku. They stayed in the library for a while talking and they shared their bentos with Kohaku. When they got ready to leave, to their surprise, it had stopped raining. The sky was clearing up, people were coming out of their house, restraunts were starting to cook food (the smells wafted through the streets), and vendors were setting up their stalls. The market was once again crowded with people. Everything was beginning to turn back to normal.

"I think we should go to Ninja Gear and get those pajamas. Three for one, remember?" Hinata said.

"Yeah. Do you think I can get some new ones?"

"Of course. You are growing up after all." Hinata squeezed Akane's hand. "You are all growing up so fast. I wish you all would stop growing up."

"Mom!" Akane laughed. Akane looked around. She smiled and pulled her mother's dress. "Mom, look! It's Satoshi and Auntie Sakura!"

Hinata looked. "It is. You want to go say hello?"

Akane shook her head. "Yes, please!"

Sakura was walking with Satoshi, who was calm and quiet, despite he was the same age as Akane. He was just like his father, Sasuke. Sakura saw Hinata and Akane and waved to them.

"Hello, Sakura-chan, Satoshi-kun. How are you two?" Hinata asked.

"We're fine. It's nice to see you two," Sakura replied. She smiled.

Akane blushed when she saw Satoshi. He was just standing there, like always. He was so quiet, but for some reason, Akane liked that about him. When she talked, he actually listened the entire time. She liked the attention.

"H-Hi, S-Satoshi-kun," Akane stuttered.

"Hello," he replied.

"H-Have you e-eaten lunch yet?" Akane asked.

"Yes. Mother and I went to restraunt and ate lunch a few minutes ago." Satoshi sighed. "I can't leave her alone. She just can't take care of herself anymore."

"Has she been working at the hospital today?" Akane asked, curious about Satoshi's statement.

"She's been overworking herself, so I made her take the day off. She has so much vacation time it's crazy." Satoshi actually smiled a small smile. "Maybe we can go to the beach next summer. I've never been there."

'I have,' Akane thought. 'I went there last year, with Mom, Dad, and my brothers. It was a little cold though.' She wouldn't dare say it out loud. It would be rude to Satoshi.

"Satoshi, we better get going now, right?" Auntie Sakura called for him.

Satoshi gave Akane one last smile and went with his mother. Akane and her mom waved them goodbye. They turned to face each other.

"Now, how about that sale at Ninja Gear?" her mother smiled.

-------------------

"Ugh..." Yuudai groaned. He slammed his head on his desk with frustration. "I hate this." He slammed his head again." Hate it--"-again-"--hate it--"-again-"--hate it!" Before he could slam his head on the desk one more time, a hand grabbed the back of his head by his hair and yanked his head up.

"Damn it!" he cursed. "Yuuki, wee do you have to be such an--" His brother pointed forward and when Yuudai turned, his teacher had a murderous look on his face.

"Yuudai Uzumaki, I hope you are talking about your hate of something else rather than my lesson," his teacher said.

"Well, your lesson sucks too--" Yuudai muttered.

"DETENTION, YUUDAI UZUMAKI!"

-------------------

"Geez, you're getting in trouble a lot more lately, Yun-Yun," Izanami commented.

"I have to admit, you usually get in trouble at least once a month, but it's gotten worse," Tadashi said. "Now it's every couple of days. Sheesh, why do you have to be so bothersome?"

"Well, excuse me! It's not my fault my parents are cruel torturers." Yuudai grumbled.

"He means, our parents won't let us graduate this year. They want us to wait until we're twelve to graduate. Something about understanding what it means to be a ninja," Yuuki told them.

"Yeah, but it's only our second year in the academy! You guys shouldn't graduate too early!" Izanami gasped.

"Our sensei said we had the makings of true shinobi. He says if we work at the rate we're going, we'll graduate in May. But once we told Mom and Dad they told us that we weren't allowed to graduate this year," Yuuki replied.

"My mom and dad say that when I am ready to graduate, I can graduate," Tadashi said. "They said they don't mind. As long as I'm ready, I'll be okay."

"Yeah, I wish my parents were like yours," Yuudai said. "If I don't graduate in May, I won't get the opportunity to get more experience. "

"What do you mean? The longer you stay in the Academy, the more you learn. Sure, you graduate at the average time, but you learn more. I bet your parents just want you to gain more knowledge about it means to be a ninja." Izanami sighed like she was out of breath.

"Wow, Izanami. That was really insightful," Tadashi complimented.

She flipped her hair back with her hand. "I can be very deep when I wanna be."

"You guys don't understand," Yuudai said. They turned to look at him. "I have to get stronger. I have to graduate this May." He looked at them with his glassy blue eyes. "I have to be the strongest shinobi this world has ever seen."

----------------------

Next-- Chapter Five: Early November


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